Ricky Gervais is the simple man named Derek. Netflix "new" show. Never mind that it played on the BBC first, they picked up the rights to air it stateside first. So we got 7 episodes of this show at once, as usual with Netflix. You can burn through the half hour long episodes real quick if you can sit through it that long. I made 5 before I had to stop.
Derek is about Derek Noakes, a nursing home helper and is a bit slow in the head. The show is a mockumentry style Gervais made famous with The Office. I was skeptical of how funny or how much I'd enjoy a show making fun of a mentally challenged person. But I gave it a shot. The first episode was a bit tough to get through, because I felt they were making fun of the mentally handicapped but that soon faded. While being funny, it was kind-hearted and had some genuinely sad moments, none at the expense of Derek's unnamed disability.
Defiantly not a pretty people show.
I am very much over the mochumentry style tv shows. I feel they have been over done and are generally not funny to me. Mainly because Reality TV shows are the same thing, staged/written events filmed with shaky cams and fake people talking at you. That is not to say I haven't enjoyed an episode or three of any Reality TV or mochumentry style show. I just prefer single camera narratives, shows that are like movies with big stories to tell. Derek has the over arching problem of not going anywhere fast. But is that a problem of the style or that it's a comedy? Hard to say. They do throw in a story of they have to come up with their own money to fund the nursing home but they gloss over if and never explain things.
Interesting product placement randomly thrown in.
The acting in this is generic British stand-in characters that can't exist in the real world. I have a hard time believing any of these people, aside from Derek, are real. Ricky Gervais does an outstanding job but I have yet to see why this show is around. Gervais based Derek on a character he used to do in his stand up. And the others are cardboard cutouts for him in interact with. It's been a week since I've seen it and I can't remember anyone's name.
"You can't remember my name? You dick."
Over all, I did enjoy the show. It was fun and touching all while been completely pointless. But when it comes down to it, isn't every show in some way pointless? So would I recommend it? Yes. You'll get attached to the Derek character very fast, rooting for him. You'll burn through this very fast, 30 minutes or so doesn't fill to much time. So pace yourself, and enjoy what little you are given. It's now on Netflix, give it go. 3 out of 5.
Derek is about Derek Noakes, a nursing home helper and is a bit slow in the head. The show is a mockumentry style Gervais made famous with The Office. I was skeptical of how funny or how much I'd enjoy a show making fun of a mentally challenged person. But I gave it a shot. The first episode was a bit tough to get through, because I felt they were making fun of the mentally handicapped but that soon faded. While being funny, it was kind-hearted and had some genuinely sad moments, none at the expense of Derek's unnamed disability.
I am very much over the mochumentry style tv shows. I feel they have been over done and are generally not funny to me. Mainly because Reality TV shows are the same thing, staged/written events filmed with shaky cams and fake people talking at you. That is not to say I haven't enjoyed an episode or three of any Reality TV or mochumentry style show. I just prefer single camera narratives, shows that are like movies with big stories to tell. Derek has the over arching problem of not going anywhere fast. But is that a problem of the style or that it's a comedy? Hard to say. They do throw in a story of they have to come up with their own money to fund the nursing home but they gloss over if and never explain things.
The acting in this is generic British stand-in characters that can't exist in the real world. I have a hard time believing any of these people, aside from Derek, are real. Ricky Gervais does an outstanding job but I have yet to see why this show is around. Gervais based Derek on a character he used to do in his stand up. And the others are cardboard cutouts for him in interact with. It's been a week since I've seen it and I can't remember anyone's name.
Over all, I did enjoy the show. It was fun and touching all while been completely pointless. But when it comes down to it, isn't every show in some way pointless? So would I recommend it? Yes. You'll get attached to the Derek character very fast, rooting for him. You'll burn through this very fast, 30 minutes or so doesn't fill to much time. So pace yourself, and enjoy what little you are given. It's now on Netflix, give it go. 3 out of 5.
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